This recently appeared on the Harvard Business review. A good read.

Just found this today. The annual Launch: Silicon Valley is scheduled to happen this June 7th
at the Microsoft Campus in Mountain View...

"In its 6th year, Launch: Silicon Valley is now firmly established as the premier product launch platform for cash strapped startups . The event, co-presented by SVASE, Garage Technology Ventures and Microsoft, provides the next generation of emerging technology companies with the opportunity to pitch their products to, and network with, an audience of Silicon Valley’s top VCs, Angels, corporate business development executives, prospective customers and partners, bloggers and media.

Launch: Silicon Valley 2011 is designed to uncover and showcase products and services from the most exciting of the newest startups in information technology, mobility, digital media, next generation internet, life sciences and clean energy".

For more information:
http://launchsiliconvalley.org/

Looking to start your own company? Need to raise some much needed capital to get it off the ground? Well I have to websites you should take a look at before you go rushing off to your next VC meeting.

The simple fact is that fewer than 2% of entrepreneurs with a good idea make it into the second meeting with a perspective VC or Angel.  Less than 1% get funded. Why are the odds so bad? Well there are many reasons, but probably the most common one is because the entrepreneur failed to do their homework. Unlike the days of the dot com boom, today's investors are scrutinizing every proposal carefully. Few fund Series A rounds themselves, and most all now require syndication with other VC or Angels.

No longer is the attitude "Hey I'm this great engineer with 30 patents to my name and a really cool idea" cutting it (as if it ever really did) in today's economy. Plainly stated: Investors invest in a business, not a technology or product. If you want to get capital, you need to do the work necessary to produce a compelling business plan. This means doing your market research, pro forma financials, and having a core team picked out and ready to go, and that's just the beginning.

To help you, I'd recommend these two websites as a good starting point: VentureHacks and The Funded. Both are an excellent forums where you can hear advice from other seasoned entrepreneurs and CEO's who have already successfully raised money for their companies. The Funded does require a membership to get access to all of the information on its site, however  some information accessible to anyone. VentureHacks is totally free and fully accessible.

Be sure to check them out, happy reading, and good luck!

Well after much re-engineering I now have made available my new resume. You can download it by clicking "My Resume" link located on my home page.

Well I finally got around to doing it and it only took 12 years...

I started putting my historical perspective on my days on the Sun Ray development together yesterday. As I was writing, I was amazed by all the happy memories that began to resurface. I never worked so hard or passionately on anything before Sun Ray came along in my career. It was for me a once-in-a-lifetime experience that I'll never forget. Oh sure, there were always other important projects that did come along. But the real magic of that moment wasn't just about the time in which it had been created, or the fact that it was a truly disruptive technology, but it was about the people who were involved. .

A special note:

You may notice that I've mentioned no names of any of the development team. This was intentional for two reasons 1) protect people's individual privacy, and 2) to keep the focus on the technology itself. Sun Ray was team effort and I want to emphasize that fact. Because at one point we had over 250 people working on it at Sun alone. So to be fair I will leave names out.

I know that to some back in those days it was just another project, another day at the office, another fire to put out. But to me it was something special. We made computing history in our own small little way and by doing so helped pave the way for the Virtual Desktop trend that has made companies like VMware and Citrix become industry giants..I am very proud of the fact that Sun Ray is now in its third generation. Still pushing the envelope and doing it silently and at a low cost. Today its Oracle's only desktop solution and that quite an amazing feat given that when we started people used to laugh at the thought of our little box ever being a replacement for their manly Ultra 60's . 

I always believed that the lifespan of the "fat client" was numbered in business and  in the home and we see some signs of that trend happening today. Cloud Computing, smartphones, tablets, app stores and market places are all heading to an eventual future where virtualization is the norm. Eventually many of us will just carry a secure, lightweight portal appliance that is our low cost eco gateway into a greater virtual world. Sound like Science Fiction?

It isn't. Its here today, or at least the many of the pieces are..

Just like in the pre-browser days of the World Wide Web, the pieces surround us in one form or another. Its simply waiting for someone to bring it all together. It's not that far off.

My two cent's, anyways.

-Marc

 

Hi everyone!

Here's a few new books I've been reading and highly recommend...

The Product Manager's Handbook (third addition)
Linda Gorchels

Marketing Metrics
The Definitive Guide to Measuring Marketing Performance (second addition)
Paul W. Ferris, Neil T. Bendle, Phillip E. Pfeifer, David J. Reibstein

The Success Principles
How to Get from Where You Are to Where You Want to Be
Jack Canfield

On a job search? Thinking about transitioning to a new occupation? Then here are a few really good sites to check out:

O*Net Online - Great site for looking up possible professions, finding detailed descriptions, skills require, salary estimates, and a good source for keywords to add to you linked-in profile or resume.
http://online.onetcenter.org/

Career One Stop - Another site similar to O*Net but will give you salary data on a state and national basis.
http://www.careeronestop.org/

Labor Market Info - Part of the California EDD website, this will let you find salary data on a county level. The data is based on quarterly information collected by the state from employers and is some of the most accurate salary information you can search. Begin your search by clicking on the "Occupation Profile" link.
http://www.labormarketinfo.edd.ca.gov/

Salary.com - This is a pay site, but does offer basic salary data for free. Most HR recruiters tend to reference this site. It presents the data as a graphical bell curve. Use the Salary wizard to search the job your interested in.
http://www.salary.com/

An interesting article came out today listing the 10 most over used terms by its job hunting users. Time to go rewrite those profiles!

http://mashable.com/2010/12/14/linkedin-resume-buzzwords/

For those like me who are engaged in their own job search in this sluggish economy, you know that the days when hiring managers, recruiters, and headhunters begged you to come work for them are long since past, even in Silicon Valley. Today's job search is all about networking. I can't stress how important it is that you maintain a good and complete Linked-in page. But beyond maintaining a large list of connections and a complete profile, its important that you get face time with people. Whether its over lunch, at a party, or and informational interview, making time for that human connection is paramount in addition to a good web presence. Now like most people I don't do well in a crowd of strangers as I tend to just observe people and listen to their conversations rather than interact with them. It's a huge mistake, and its time to change habit!

So how do you get around this?

Well I just finished an excellent book I'd like to recommend to you. I know, I know.. yet another self-help book. True. But this one is a light read, a whopping 78 pages. In fact, Mr. "I can read a paperback in a month, let alone a week" (yours truly) was able to read this in one short evening session.

The book is called:

                                 "I'm at a networking event, Now what???"
                                           By Sandy Jones-Kaminski
                                             ISBN 978-1-60005-166-1

It's published by HappyAbout.Info  You can purchase the book directly from them. Also check out some of their other offerings. If your a novice to Linked-In their book "I'm on Linked-in, Now what?/?" also is a good read I am told.

The book offers many helpful tips. It describes what networking is, how to prepare for one, where to find them, what you should do once your there, what not to do at one, what you should do after, when you should stop networking (never really), effective networking, and even how to host your own networking events plus loads of other handy resources.  Check it out, its a good (quick) read

Hello!
Well I finally did it, I created my own website and blog.I am still in the process of refining the site, so stay tuned!

-Marc